NAR CLO Katie Johnson Out

After 17 years with the organization — including a myriad of recent crises — National Association of Realtors chief legal officer Katie Johnson is leaving the trade group.

Johnson is stepping down as NAR’s top legal executive imminently, Inman reported. The trade group denied rumors that Johnson had been fired, issuing a statement to the publication thanking Johnson for her service. Her last day will be Friday, according to HousingWire.

It’s unclear why Johnson is leaving and where the decision ultimately came from. She was one of several top figures at NAR called on by staffers to resign last year amid a sexual misconduct scandal, alongside CEO Bob Goldberg, president Tracy Kasper and senior vice president Donna Gland. After this week, none of the four managers will remain at NAR.

Johnson joined NAR in 2007, two years after earning her law degree. She ascended to general counsel in 2014 before being elevated to chief legal officer in March 2023. In 2022, she earned more than $1 million in compensation, according to the most recent available nonprofit tax filings.

During her recent tenure, a legal avalanche buried much of the work NAR was doing. One-time president Kenny Parcell resigned last August following sexual harassment allegations made by multiple NAR-affiliated women. An exposé in the New York Times detailed a “culture of fear” that emerged under Parcell’s leadership.

Then, there were the antitrust commission lawsuits, which are still dogging NAR. Last year, a jury found NAR and several major real estate companies liable for conspiring to inflate broker commissions, a landmark decision which continues to reverberate across the industry. The trade group negotiated a $418 million settlement of Sitzer/Burnett and similar cases, an agreement still awaiting court approval.

The Department of Justice is eyeing its own probe into the trade organization and the practices that landed it in legal hot water in the first place.

In the wake of Johnson’s departure, NAR general counsel Lesley Muchow will be fielding legal questions and concerns from members in the interim. The organization is also hiring additional outside counsel this week, which will be focused on risk assessment.

— Holden Walter-Warner